Lake Amistad’s Scuba Cove- February 29th, 2016

Any day you can dive is a good day, but Monday was one of those perfect weather days; a Goldilocks kind of day, not too hot and not too cool. The sky was overcast, but temperature was warm. It was definitely a perfect day for scuba diving at Lake Amistad’s Scuba Cove near the Diablo East boat ramp.

Lake Amistad is currently at 67% full pool and slowly rising. The visibility is lower than normal as a result of the low levels. Although the 15’+ viz we usually enjoy is awesome to have, diving in lower viz is a great exercise to improve your comfort with scuba. I found the bottom time I spent in low viz as a new diver helped make me much more comfortable in the ocean.

Monday’s dive was good practice for skills learned in the PADI Underwater Navigator specialty course. The 4’ visibility provided an excellent opportunity for relying on compass and natural navigation skills as we toured the cove.

We dived to a max depth of 55’, staying within the limits available to a PADI Open Water Diver, while touring the area. I found more fish activity during this dive with most of them in the 20-30 foot depth range. Throughout the dive I saw blue gill and one goby. I didn’t find any bass, but expect they will be staying near the main lake points at the edge of the cove due to the cold water temps.

The water temperature is still at 54 (f), which is typical for lakes in the region during this time of year. Choosing the correct exposure protection is very important in scuba and can make a difference between a comfortable dive and a miserable experience. I chose my typical cold water exposure set for this dive; a 7/5mm jumpsuit, a 3mm hooded vest, a pair of 5mm boots, and a pair of 5mm gloves. I was able to stay comfortable and focused during the entire 40 minute bottom time of this dive.

We finished the 3-minute safety stop and ascended at the dock thanks to navigation skills. The dock has a newly installed set of stairs which were very helpful in exiting the water. The dock and stairs are a definite improvement to the dive site.

After disassembling my scuba kit I looked up the long walkway leading to the top as I prepared to carry my gear up. I could hear AC/DC’s Bon Scott singing “It’s a long way to the top, if you want to rock and roll!” It sure is Bon, but enjoying a great dive on a beautiful day is always worth the climb.

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Phillip Peeler is a PADI Divemaster and owner of Scuba Oasis, LLC. He’s an avid diver who enjoys sharing his passion for scuba with experienced and new divers alike. He can often be found diving lakes and rivers of the Southwest Texas region. Be sure to Like the Scuba Oasis Facebook page to receive alerts of our upcoming dives and join him on an upcoming dive.